The way users engage with apps is shifting fast — and often not in the direction most teams anticipated. What once passed as innovation is now just noise. Features that used to impress are now ignored. Entire product categories, built on bold predictions and massive funding rounds, have quietly faded away.
Today, user attention is scarce, switching costs are near zero, and tolerance for clunky UX is gone. Most importantly, people no longer explore apps with curiosity; they evaluate them immediately. If the value isn’t apparent immediately, they move on.
In this environment, product teams are forced to rethink almost everything: how value is communicated, how habits are formed, and how technologies like AI are integrated. It’s no longer about building more — it’s about building less but better.
So, what exactly stopped working? What expectations are replacing old norms? And how are the most adaptive teams delivering under these new constraints?
Let’s break it down.
1. What No Longer Works
Not every technology backed by billions has managed to earn its place in everyday life. Some of the most ambitious bets of recent years — AR, VR, and voice interfaces — failed the test of real-world usage.
AR and Apple Vision Pro were pitched as the next layer of interaction.
Voice assistants faced a similar fate. Siri, Alexa, and their counterparts didn’t become the default interface. Their use stayed confined to narrow scenarios — playing music, checking the weather, or helping older users talk to a speaker. That’s not real behavioral adoption.
The core issue behind both is the lack of an active, recurring user base. Without it, developers have no incentive to build; without developers, there’s no ecosystem of meaningful use cases. It’s a closed loop that stops the platform from becoming truly indispensable.
No Device Has Replaced the Smartphone
Another area that hasn’t lived up to the hype is the search for the “next device” after the smartphone. Startups like Rewind tried to reinvent how we consume digital services — but the phone remains firmly in place as the main, all-purpose interface. Building specifically for Oculus or Apple Vision Pro doesn’t make sense — these platforms lack the user base to justify serious developer investment.
Attempts to turn AR into the next big user interface also fell flat. Facebook poured billions into the vision — after acquiring Oculus, up to 30% of the company’s developers were focused on AR and the Metaverse. But the idea never really took off. Users stayed grounded in reality, where devices still need to be practical, autonomous, and suited for everyday use — not experimental showcases.
AI Remains Untrusted
At the same time, skepticism toward AI-generated content is growing. People have a stronger emotional response to things made by humans — even when AI delivers the same output. The rise of synthetic influencers, AI-generated photos, and machine-written texts raises new questions: Where is the line between real and fake? Should AI content be labeled? And is it even healthy to form emotional connections with a simulation?
This psychological barrier is starting to matter more than the technical one. Even the most intelligent support chatbots still get the same request: “Connect me to a human.” The desire to talk to real people hasn’t gone away, which limits how far AI can scale, no matter how efficient it gets.
The Superapp Illusion
The idea of a super app — combining multiple services into one interface — was long seen as a strategic goal for digital platforms. The logic seemed straightforward: if users can solve all their needs within a single product, retention and monetization should follow.
But in many cases, that logic didn’t hold. Attempts to pack everything into one place often led to bloated interfaces, unclear user flows, and declining engagement. Instead of convenience, users encountered unnecessary complexity.
As a result, the trend began to shift in the opposite direction. Platforms started breaking products apart again. For example,
The focus has shifted from platform dominance to targeted competition across specific use cases — stories, short videos, and long-form content. The new approach is clear: success isn’t about doing everything, it’s about doing one thing better than anyone else.
2. How User Behavior Has Shifted
Users don’t explore apps anymore — they scan them. If something doesn’t work or make sense instantly, they’re out. The space between opening and uninstalling has collapsed to seconds, and product teams now operate within this ever-shrinking window.
Attention spans have tightened
People spend less and less time inside individual products. The competition isn’t just between apps in the same category — it’s across all digital experiences. Every product is fighting for a share of the same limited attention. Even time spent per app is shrinking, making retention a battle that starts the moment a user lands.
Users need a reason to stay — not later, but right now. Product teams have to design for habit from day one. If an app doesn’t deliver immediate value or fit naturally into a user’s daily routine, people will simply move on. As the saying goes: "Make it a habit, or they’ll disappear fast."
First-touch experience has become critical
No more “cold starts.” Apps are expected to deliver engagement immediately — without friction, tutorials, or delayed benefits. Each interaction needs to feel like a forward motion. The time users are willing to spend before they feel progress is near zero.
Today, apps have to prove more than just user demand—they need to show how they’ll generate revenue early on. It’s no longer enough to simply grow a user base — you need to know how you’ll make money from day one.
Products with no clear path to monetization aren’t just risky — they’re dead on arrival.
3. What’s Working in 2025 — and What Will Keep Working
While some product bets are being wiped out, others quietly prove their value — not through hype but through everyday use. Successful apps make complex things simple, seamlessly blend into daily life, and keep the technology in the background.
Financial services have gone mainstream
Uberization unlocked experiences once reserved for the elite. You no longer need to buy a helicopter — you can rent one. A ride in a Maybach? Just another tap in your app, not a luxury fantasy. What used to be a privilege has become a commodity.
But that phase is already behind us. The “rent, don’t own” model has quietly evolved into the next stage: the democratization of complex financial tools. What once required a bank account, paperwork, and approval processes is now part of the product flow. Apps let you invest $3 in stocks or split your grocery bill into four payments — no forms, friction, or feeling that you’re “doing finance.” It all happens quietly in the background, without your effort.
Subscriptions are the default for entertainment
The less time people spend working, the more they spend consuming. Subscription is now a core model, aligned with the growing habit of continuous entertainment.People are willing to pay if a product fills free time without friction. Despite the flood of streaming content, TikTok, and YouTube, user time is still expanding — and the services that occupy it will continue to grow steadily.
AI works best when it disappears
The most useful AI isn’t in chatbots — it’s in small, built-in tools that solve problems before you notice them. Removing unwanted objects from photos, searching images by content, and auto-cleaning videos — these features save time without demanding attention. This kind of AI doesn’t draw the eye or sell itself as a feature — it just works. Not a showcase but a silent engine that makes the product smarter, faster, and cleaner. Apps ultimately become tools for saving time and taking over routine tasks.
Do less, but do better. In an environment of shrinking attention and rising expectations, it’s not the feature-packed apps that win — it’s the ones that deliver immediate and specific value. Users don’t allow time for warm-ups — the benefit needs to be clear from the start, and the experience must feel natural and effortless. This way, you can win.
